D.C. police officer sentenced in choking of his wife

A D.C. police officer was sentenced Monday on assault charges for choking his wife during an outing with friends.

Capt. Lamar West, of Upper Marlboro, was handed a 10-year suspended sentence and 18 months of supervised probation after pleading guilty to second-degree assault, according to the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney office.

West, 49, pleaded guilty to the charge after a previous trial ended in a hung jury.

The assault happened in 2012 while West and his wife got into an argument in the backseat of an SUV driven by another women, court documents said. The argument became physical, and the driver eventually stopped the vehicle as the fight escalated.

Another man who was riding shotgun pulled West off his wife as the police captain was choking her, police said.

West and the male passenger scuffled to the ground, according to court documents. At the time, West was wearing his service weapon, and the male passenger managed to kick the weapon underneath the vehicle.

At the time of the in incident, West was listed as the director of the Police Business Services Division, which coordinates records processing, fingerprint analysis and licensing special police officers and security guards.